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ACROSS
1 Crashed into pieces, reusing some that might be extra sharp (7,6)
9 Awkward, short quarrel (5)
10 Sign of island cereal (9)
11 Try and use a turbulent waterway (7)
12 Decapitated Russian and Spaniard (7)
13 Kill Washington, then kill Cummings as a refresher? (4,6)
15 Hot tune: It grows on you (4)
18 Clothing line: “West Is West” (4)
20 Front-to-back detector installed in computer component, limiting what you can see and hear (10)
Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets.
Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.
As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war.
In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth.
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23 Slow and largely gloomy twin (7)
24 Russian president traveling in style (7)
25 Father holds misprinted menu before getting over one illness (9)
26 Heads of government acquire nestled jar and pot (5)
27 Businesswoman’s flaw: pursuing store with dispatch (6,7)
DOWN
1 Comic sets off powders and creams (9)
2 Clothed in reversible pelts, I peruse a letter (7)
3 Challenge: break off an engagement? (8)
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4 Lucy’s husband is real gross (5)
5 Joy of putting passcode into unrecognizable shapes (9)
6 Rapper’s excellent source of gold and platinum, finally (6)
7 Mix oat and rice with blueprints, perhaps? (7)
8 Except for the beginning, sanctioned literature is briefly of unknown authorship (4)
14 Train union leader in foreign language? Supposedly, there’s no such thing (4,5)
16 Sorrowful author gains entry to natter incoherently (9)
17 Opening disc (record) in pure chaos (8)
19 City guy is gripped by unhinged mania (7)
21 “Hallelujah!” or “God be praised!”: Santa’s words to Frozen character (7)
22 Grumble about liquor twice (6)
23 At first, great ape is to open wide (4)
24 A long time indeed to accept Arkansas (5)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3445
1 TRUMP + ETERSWAN (anag.) + S 9 hidden 10 I + NCOR(R)ECT (concert anag.) 12 & 26 BEG + ONE 13 E(P + AU)LEMENTS 14 rebus 16 THE + M 20 D-[a/I]-SH 21 UNDER(WA)TER (returned anag.) 23 PRIM + ARY (anag.) + C + ARE 27 EM + BELL-ISH 28 & 29 anag.
DOWN 2 RELI(G.I.)OUS (lousier anag.) 3 MA(C)KER + EL 4 hidden 5 EX(CUL[t])PAT + E 6 SC(RIM)P (rev.) 7 alternate letters 8 “cites” 11 A(BUS)ED (D.E.A. rev.) 15 HEN + R(YVI)I + I (ivy rev.) 17 HAT(SOF(F)T)O (oath anag.) 18 MOR(S)EL 19 S(WEE)TPEA (paste anag.) 22 PAEL (rev.) + L + A 23 PLEA + T 24 initial letters 25 A + P + HID
Joshua Kosman and Henri PicciottoJoshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto are The Nation’s puzzlers. To read more about Kosman, click here. To read more about Picciotto, click here. Kosman and Picciotto explain what they’re up to in “Solving The Nation’s Cryptic Crosswords” (also available as a PDF).